Champions League Roundup: Knockout stage comes into focus

Champions League Roundup, Week 5: Knockout stage comes into focus

The fifth round of group stage matches in the UEFA Champions League is finished. Here is a look back at the ninth and tenth days of the competition, during which almost 12 of the 16 knockout spots were decided (Manchester United progressed in the fourth round).

Biggest upsetGalatasaray 1-0 Manchester United
A weak pick. United is already through and rested half its regulars. But it kept the Turkish side alive in the competition and led to a widely circulated and hilarious Photoshop job.

Most convincing resultJuventus 3-0 Chelsea
Chelsea is on the verge of becoming the first defending champion to miss the knockout stage thanks to a straight-up demolition at the hands of the Italian champions. The loss cost manager Roberto Di Matteo his job. Everything clicked for Juventus in the Blues’ end, and even when the Italian side fell apart at the back, Gianluigi Buffon made life impossibly difficult for Chelsea’s forwards.Runners-up: Barcelona 3-0 Spartak Moscow, Borussia Dortmund 4-1 Ajax

Least convincing resultBenfica 2-1 Celtic
The Scottish champions, riding high on their massive upset over the best team in the world (Barcelona), somehow come crashing back to Earth against the second-best team in Portugal. There is a silver lining here: Celtic’s last game is against group bottom feeders Spartak Moscow, while Benfica will have to fend off Barca. And even though Barca has qualified for the next round, Tito Vilanova’s squad rarely, if ever, takes a game off.

Best goal (tie)Karim Benzema, Real Madrid
In the 10th minute of Real’s knockout stage qualifying draw with Manchester City, Angel di Maria’s long cross met the back heel of Karim Benzema’s trailing foot and Joe Hart had no chance. It’s possible he had no chance because Maicon let Benzema sprint unharrassed to the front of the net, but still.

Phillipe Mexes, AC Milan
Milan might stink in the Serie A, but it’s moving on in the Champions League, thanks in part to Phillipe Mexes’ spectacular bicycle kick in his team’s 3-1 win over Anderlecht.

Best individual performanceLionel Messi, Barcelona
The world’s best has arguably been the Champions League’s best in three of five group stage weeks. Against Spartak, he had two goals and assisted on the other one. His second goal, where he effortlessly danced around Moscow keeper Andriy Dykan, was a dazzling bit of skill. And, really, par for the course when it comes to Messi.

Worst individual performanceLuiz Adriano, Shakhtar Donetsk
Weird to criticize a guy who scored a hat trick in his team’s 5-2 win over Denmark’s Nordsjælland, but then again, he did this.